Key Automobile Technology Leaked to China

Industrial spies who leaked key auto-making technology held by Hyundai-Kia Motors to China were arrested by prosecutors on charges of transferring Hyundai-Kia Motor’s auto assembling technology to a Chinese auto company.

The 4th detective division of the Suwon District Prosecutors’ Office arrested five people, including “A” consulting firm’s director Choi (58), team leader Yoon (44), and incumbent Hyundai-Kia Motors employees Lee (40) and Jee (29), while indicting 4 other employees, including “A” consulting firm’s president Kim (62) and executive director Jeong (49) without physical detention.

The prosecution expects this technology leakage will damage Hyundai-Kia Motors to the tune of 4.7 trillion won within the Chinese car market alone, and 22.3 trillion won in the global automobile market until 2010, as Chinese automobiles are making inroads into the global market as a result of their accumulating technology.

According to the prosecutors, employees of “A” consulting firm, including the arrested former Hyundai-Kia Motors employee Choi, allegedly received a total of 57 technology and sales-related confidential documents on car-assembling technology for the Sorrento and other new cars, as well as the security system, via e-mail last November until just recently. They allegedly handed the documents to the Chinese auto firm “C” in exchange for 230 million won.

Hyundai-Kia Motors production employees, including Lee, are suspected of leaking information from the computers of the company using USB connections, the portable storage device, and delivering it to “A” company’s workers and former employees of Hyundai through e-mail.

The prosecution said, “Not only does the damage rank among the highest in history, but it will also narrow the auto-making technology gap between China and Korea from the current expected three years to one and a half years by 2010.”

argus@donga.com